Weaponization of CVE-2026-42945: NGINX Rewrite Module Vulnerability Under Active Exploitation
A critical security flaw impacting NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source, tracked as CVE-2026-42945, has transitioned from public disclosure to active exploitation in the wild. The vulnerability is a heap buffer overflow within the ngx_http_rewrite_module that allows unauthenticated attackers to trigger worker process crashes (denial-of-service) or potentially achieve remote code execution (RCE) via crafted HTTP requests. While RCE is largely mitigated by Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), honeypot data confirms threat actors are already weaponizing the flaw to disrupt services. This exploitation coincides with a cluster of attacks targeting openDCIM infrastructure management software, reportedly utilizing AI-assisted vulnerability discovery tools. F5 has released patches, and immediate updates are recommended for all NGINX deployments within the affected version range (0.6.27 to 1.30.0). Read more